The Hunted Kunoichi
by Phonesis
Summary: With the Dead or Alive tournament over Kasumi must decide on what to do, and more importantly, where to go. Little does she know that a sinister plan is brewing, Kasumi is truly a hunted kunoichi.
1. A Purposeful Intent Chapters 1 & 2

** The Hunted Kunoichi**  
  
_Written by_ _Phonesis (Martin Poole)_

_(Hello everyone, this is my first story and one which I am looking to update often. I hope you enjoy reading it.)_

**Notes**

This story is based just after the Dead or Alive 3 tournament. It involves Kasumi as the main character and will likely end up quite a lengthy tale. I want to emphasise now that this is not a "Kasumi Love story". This will be a little different. I am aiming to get a part done once every few days, but may be delayed now and again, we'll see. A part will come with two chapters. Anyway, enjoy. _Phonesis_

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**Chapter One  
**

Kasumi sat warmly in the large tree branch. The golden sun had proceeded to sink beneath dark cascaded mountains that scattered out across a mysterious horizon. Kasumi was at peace with her ideal surroundings. She had been through so much. Her brown hair swayed out across her head and shoulders as she stared into the dimming bronze light. Birds high above sung in unison as nature's cycle altered.  
  
Kasumi was a female ninja, known as a kunoichi. At only 17 she was young yet highly skilled in her fighting techniques. Her abilities were bordering super human and truly entertaining a spiritual plain. Her blue ninja attire was a distinct look. She wore white stockings and a blue half-cut kimono around her body. A tanto sword hung from her back and she wore blue boots and gloves with a white neck loop.  
  
She was tired for good reason. She had just returned into the woods from the Dead or Alive tournament which she had won. She had seen her brother, Hayate, in this tournament for one last time. The fact was Kasumi was a hunted girl. She was a runaway shinobi and had broken away from her clan. Instead of accepted her role as leader of the Mujin-Tenshin style she had gone to seek vengeance for her brother, who had been half-paralysed by a sinister corporation known as DOATEC. This action which she took meant she had broken the code of her clan and she knew this meant she would never be able to return home in peace.  
  
Her brother, Hayate, didn't want this but knew it was his duty to order her death. He, now leader of the style, was forced to send highly skilled assassins after her. This was Kasumi's punishment for taking passion before principle. She knew this would happen and now, after the tournament, was prepared to live on the run. She knew her actions had been justified; she had only been looking out for her brother, and was ready to face anyone.  
  
The sun had now all but faded as Kasumi reflected on all that had happened to her. Her thoughts went back to her half sister, Ayane, who now hated her for the way she had broken the clan's code. Ayane also despised Kasumi for being the focal point – she envied her older sister.  
  
The tree branch was high and overlooked a vast clearing of trees. The woodland was dense and rich. Kasumi had plans to venture out of the area she was in, and travel north from Tokyo, in the hope that she eventually lose her hunters. She was aware of the fact she was being followed, and had been ever since leaving the fighting tournament. Those that hunted her were shinobi of the clan she could have rightfully ruled. She was prepared to defend herself against anyone and was confident, but Kasumi hated doing this, to fight, hurt, and kill just to survive. Her last encounter before she reached this tree had been when a few shinobi's fired a series of shurikan's at her as she raced through the wood. One had caught her hair clip, loosening her rich brown hair out of its ponytail and braid. She had managed to lose these particular assailants with one of her smoke bombs which she had thrown, and in a flash, faded through the conflagration.  
  
The warm sunset winds blew comfortably around Kasumi. For a moment she felt totally at ease, and then she heard fumbling below and noticed a dark figure advancing through the foliage. Whoever it was they had not noticed Kasumi perked high up in the trees. They slowly and cautiously walked by and past the tree. Kasumi could tell from the figures bodily behaviour that they were obviously alert and ready for a confrontation. This was likely the confrontation with her.  
  
Kasumi resumed observations in her vantage point. The black figure slowly decreased into a mere silhouette as it moved on. She waited until the figure had advanced some distance forward from the tree before she decided to make a move. She carefully climbed down the tree, leaping from one branch to another until her feet hit the soil of the ground. She had done this as quietly as possible and not even the birds had complained.  
  
From her new position she looked forward through trees and could see the black figure walk on. She didn't want to raise any attention and begun to race away to the right which meant she'd be heading north. This was the way she wanted to go anyway. As Kasumi begun to move on the figure turned and noticed his target. He had sensed she was near and felt an urge to look back from where he'd come. This paid off. A smile formed on his half hidden face, hidden by a black scarf. He changed direction.  
  
Kasumi recommenced her trek and ran through the natural surroundings with speed and attentive awareness of anything suspicious. Not only was Kasumi highly skilled in martial arts she was also very capable of sensing things. She had a strong intuition and sharp mind. Her senses were so astute not even the best of stealthy shinobi's could reach near her without her awareness of the fact.  
  
As she raced forever on through the rural world the figure she had spotted earlier became a memory. Her passion to drive on and survive anything that could be thrown at her was never stronger than it was at this point. She was so confident, and positive, with such intent and direction about what she was doing, and why, that she had created her own "undefeatable" reality. Eventually though physical energy needs time to recover and Kasumi decided to rest and get some sleep. She had to sleep even in this situation but had developed a way of half-sleeping where she still could react to reality – like a cat. She stopped in an area of high thick green trees and knee-high grass. The terrain was quite flat and the light was now entirely diminished as the sun had long since set. Kasumi could just about hear the sounds of gushing water from a small stream which meandered around the forest. Like before, she climbed a tall tree and sat on a mighty branch. She felt more comfortable up high and it was a very effective place to remain undetected. Her eyes closed and she calmly relaxed. It wasn't long before she had drifted off into sleep. She slept well and without distraction. The night gave her a welcome burst of energy and as she woke to the sunrise in the east her thoughts quickly turned to an intuitive feeling she felt. She felt as if someone was near.  
  
The sunlight peppered into the woodland from breaks in the tree line. Lines of light beamed down from the heavens and met the ground beneath. The kunoichi vigilantly looked in every direction. She focused on the bushes, trees, grass, and concentrated hard to spot any signs of movement. Something wasn't quite right.  
  
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**Chapter Two  
**

Endal didn't need more than one good blade but kitted himself up with two anyway. He placed his large Katana to one side of his belt and put a dagger into his thigh strap. His black clothing made him look quite sinister and this was his intention. Being a professional assassin required a cold image. Endal had one.  
  
He looked into the mirror in slow absorption of the reflection. He stood out in Japan, being a westerner. His white skin and blue eyes were the only colour in the reflection. The rest was dark tone, black and dim.  
  
He knew his job and knew the reward only too well. He'd been hired to hunt down and capture a female ninja known as Kasumi. His client was a man known to him as Shake. This was the only name he had to go by. Shake had made it quite clear to Endal, capture her alive and bring her to him. Endal had been given the details of the place to go.  
  
Endal took one final glance in the mirror and left for the great outdoors, and into the woods. He had been based in a small shack North of Tokyo. It was now time to hunt.

* * *

Kasumi felt driven to act. She felt as if someone was watching her and this feeling rarely proved a false alarm. She suddenly pounced from the tree and spun in the air in a flip and landed with a forwards roll in the grass, her tanto poised. Laughter came from a bush to her side. Kasumi didn't move, her eyes turned to face the bush.

"Who is that?" She yelled.

"I'm just a birdwatcher," a voice sounded, followed by more laughter.

Kasumi seemed prepared to face off. She remained in a stance and begun to turn to face the direction the voice was coming from.

"Show yourself, who are you?" Kasumi asked again.

With that a figure leapt from the bushes and flipped in the air. They landed in front of the girl and stood with their hands together.

"Hello Kasumi, I am Endal. I've been following you."

Kasumi was hardly surprised she'd had a stalker but sensed that Endal must have been highly skilled if he'd managed to follow her without her knowing it until now.

"What do you want from me Endal?" Kasumi asked.

Endal laughed again. It was an evil laugh, like some old master shunning his apprentice.

"You are my pray Kasumi. I want you..."  
  
Kasumi gulped. She didn't like to fight but knew Endal was quite serious and that there was no other way out of it.

"I will not be defeated," she said.

Endal suddenly got in a stance and drew his large shimmering Katana blade. He held it with both hands and bent low on his knees.

"Let's see about that," he mocked.

He then charged at her and leapt with his sword poised to stab her. Kasumi rolled to one side to avoid it and regained her stance. Endal turned and quickly continued his attack. He began to swing his sword at her. Metal struck metal as the two blades made contact. Endal tried to strike her head and then stomach and then attempted to sweep her from of her feet. Kasumi jumped in the air and kicked him with both feet straight into his chest. He fell back in a daze. Kasumi ran at him and jumped up, delivering a swift flying kick into his face. The dark assassin dropped his sword and flew back fiercely. His back struck a tree with force and he leaned against the old oak momentarily before sliding down it until he sat upright against it with both legs laying flat.

Kasumi regained her stance, this time lowering her angle after analysing Endal's style and deciding on the best way to deal with it. She watched her opponent closely and waited for him to get up and collect his sword. She had no intention of attacking him before he'd recovered, even though this would have likely meant she'd win the fight now. She was truly the honourable warrior. Endal focused his eyes and snapped out of the brief shock of the strike. He clambered to his feet and dusted off his attire. His lip was cut and blood oozed from the slash. He took some in his fingers and licked it in defiance.

"Not bad, for a girl," he mocked.

He walked to his sword and went to pick it back up, but without any warning then grabbed the dagger from his thigh and threw it at her. It spun it the air and raced towards her. With great reaction Kasumi struck it with her tanto and cut it in two. Endal had clutched his Katana and came racing at her. Since she'd been distracted by the dagger she wasn't fast enough to react to Endal's strike as he drove his sword towards her. It made contact with her left arm and cut above the elbow. She pounced out of the way of further attacks and then the two faced off yet again.

The cut was not deep but stung and angered the kunoichi. It had come as a shock to her. The two then circled off and Endal was first to assault with another belly high swing of his blade. Kasumi evaded this and leapt into the air and spun with both legs out straight in a cartwheel. As she turned in mid air her feet struck Endal one after the after in a devastating kick combination. Endal dropped his sword once again and just fell over awkwardly onto his back. Kasumi landed over his, she stood to his side, peering over him.

Kasumi was well aware of the power of that move and didn't expect Endal to get back up.

"Stay down," she said softly.

Endal was still conscious but seemed concerned and bothered. He lay motionlessly. More blood had appeared on his face, dripping from his nose.

"I really underestimated you didn't I?" Endal said.

He laughed but this time it was more of a sincere laugh, followed by a cough.

"You fought well Endal, but please don't continue on. I don't want to hurt you," Kasumi replied.

She was serious about this. She hated hurting anybody, even those that wanted to kill her.  
  
Endal smiled at her and remained motionless. The truth was he wasn't planning on calling it a day. He still had a chance of capturing Kasumi, even if he couldn't defeat her in a fair fight. This didn't matter to him; it just would have been nice to prove it to himself. But at the end of the day, money was his real aim. He began to fiddle with something in his belt with one hand.

"I give up Kasumi, you win. I'm just going to get a drink from my belt," he said.

Kasumi knelt down by him and sheaved her tanto back around her lower back.

"Don't worry. I won't harm you, are you okay?" Kasumi asked caringly.

"Yeah I'm sure I'll be fine," he said.

As he spoke he clutched a small bag of a strange substance in his left hand. Suddenly as Kasumi was about to put her hand to his forehead he threw the bag into her face. The contents exploded out from the bag and created a puffy yellow mist around her. She recoiled back and coughed violently. Endal had already taken a deep breath and held it until the vapour cleared. Kasumi had taken a large gulp of the stuff in and she continued coughing violently. Suddenly she felt the strength in her limbs fail and she fell to the grass. After a few more seconds of struggling against the effects the substance had caused her she accepted defeat and lay flat in the grass. Her vision was blurry and dim and eventually turned to black. She lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
Endal sat up slowly and looked to the girl who lay to his side. He laughed smugly and smiled with devious glee. Now all he had to do was carry her back to Shake's location.

_(Part Two only a click away...)_


	2. Dirty Work Chapters 3 & 4

_(Note: This story will be in parts - each part consists of two chapters. Just my way of doing things.)_

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**Chapter Three**

Shake paced up and down the corridor in desperate anxiety. His cream suit reflected the light from a fluorescent bulb that glowed from the ceiling. The atmosphere of the small warehouse was eerie, likely mostly due to the silence. Every step Shake took created a loud echo of sound. The walls were mostly concrete, bare and cold. There was little life in this industrial dump.  
  
Shake knew that Endal was on the hunt for Kasumi. He knew that Kasumi was on the move, heading out of Tokyo to the north. Shake knew that this was the time that would prove the outcome of this, either Endal would catch Kasumi or he wouldn't. It was now or never. Shake was on his own in the basement. His two bodyguards stood upstairs near the main entrance door to the hangar. It was an abandoned airport in the middle of a wood far from any significant dwelling. Branches from winding plants snaked their way around barrels, mostly upturned.  
  
Shake was a relatively large man. He had short black hair and a goatee. He was one of those who wore sunglasses, even when in dingy underground corridors. He was also quite a young man, easily in his mid twenties. What he wanted with Kasumi was unclear at best, but it was likely linked to his eye for money.  
  
The repetitive echo of his footsteps suddenly ceased as a new sound ricocheted around solid walls. It was his mobile phone, a pulsating series of bleeps forming insipid melody. He fondled with the small gadget and put it to his ear:

"Yeah hello," he yelled.

"Shake its Endal," came a voice.

"Endal... Endal you got good news I hope, what's happening?" Shake inquired.

Endal laughed in his dry tone and replied swiftly.

"Shake its sorted. I've got her, Kasumi, and am heading for you now. It's all done."

"Excellent work Endal, you will be well rewarded, see you soon then."

Shake put the phone back in his jacket pocket and grinned to himself as he stared at a rusty fire extinguisher. Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

Endal was well aware of quite how tired he was from the blows he'd received from Kasumi. As he brought himself to his feet he felt the soreness magnify through movement. The blood was only a hindrance; it was the pain in his chest and forehead that troubled him. The assassin scrambled closer to Kasumi who lay on her back in perfect stillness. Endal felt ever so attracted to the girl as he focused on her beauty. He studied her facial features and looked down to her body. He felt himself briefly regretting his actions, remembering how compassionate Kasumi had been to him before he had betrayed that trust. But then he remembered the money.  
  
He knew that to seal the job he was going to have to drag or carry Kasumi to the airport. It was a few miles west of here and mostly through flat terrain. He didn't expect to be troubled by passers by either; it was now a very rural and wild part of the woods – well away from the city outskirts. Endal took both of Kasumi's arms and then propped her up before heaving her to her feet. He bent down and brought her over his back, tucking her legs around one side of his body and her arms across the over. He then stood up straight and took a few steps forward with her across his back. He quickly realised that she was by no means particularly heavy, in fact very light, but in his state he would not be able to carry her like this for long. He tried something different and put both her arms around his neck, like he was going to give her a piggy back, except instead of a piggy back Kasumi just dangled from his back with her feet face down in the grass. This would have to do.  
  
The dark character then initiated the journey to their destination. His pace was hardly swift but neither slow. Mother Nature seemed to observe Endal in passive protest. The birds sung loudly above and the occasional butterfly would flicker around his face before gliding away. Sweat also began to pour from his brow. It was certainly a hot day in the forest.  
  
Minutes seemed like hours as he pressed on through grassy clearings, pine riddled forests and thick, dense, foliage. All this time Kasumi's form just hung limp from his back with her legs dangling down and bent at the knees. Endal was quite short, almost as short as the 5'2" Kasumi, and this made this task all the tougher. Kasumi's feet seemed to almost float over the blades of green grass.  
  
Endal really was running low on energy and spotted a large overturned tree just ahead. He decided this would be the perfect place to take a quick rest. He'd already contacted Shake and informed him he was on the way. However there was no great emphasis on the speed he reached the location. He made the last few final steps to the mighty tree and then stopped by its side. He brought Kasumi's arms over his head and placed her carefully down into the long green grass. As he sat down on the log he then remembered that the concoction he'd used to capture the girl only had an effect on most people for about 30 minutes. It must have been heading towards that time scale by now but he'd lost track of time. He had forgotten about this detail and didn't have anymore of the potion with him to simply do it again. He decided to take no precautions and hunted around his waist belt for the rope he had brought with him. He had planned to tie Kasumi up in the first place but this plan had slipped his mind.  
  
He revealed a few separate lines of strong white rope and knelt down by Kasumi's body. He brought her legs together and begun to wrap the rope around her ankles loop after loop. He then tightened it firmly and tied a double knot. Just to make sure he used the excess rope to join each side of the loops up through the tight gap in between Kasumi's ankles. He then knotted this. Endal shuffled up to her arms and put her wrists together with her arms to her front. He knew that to tie them behind her back would make carrying her a real mission.  
  
As Endal bound Kasumi's wrists together a figure appeared from the woods to their right side. Whoever it was they seemed very intrigued by the site of a male tying up an unconscious girl.

"Hey you! What are you doing?" The figure shouted.

They then came dashing out from the trees and gained in on Endal. Endal had already completed tying Kasumi's wrists and stood up to greet the person.  
  
The figure was a largely built man. He seemed quite matured with a long brown beard. He was carrying a fishing rod in one arm and a bucket of caught fish in another.

"Why are you tying that girl up?" He asked again.

Endal made no attempt to cover the situation up.

"Mind your own business old man, get the hell out of here," Endal firmly stated.

This seemed to anger the bearded man who got closer and put down his rod and bucket.

"No one talks to me like that... your kidnapping that girl aren't you?" The bearded man said.

"Whatever it is I am doing you, my friend, will never know. Now go away, or I'll..." Endal was interrupted.

"You're what? You think you're so fancy with your sword and that do you? Ha!"

Endal smiled.

"My sword... oh you mean you've noticed this?"

He then brought his katana out from his belt and waved it around in swift motions before getting in a fighting stance.

"Do you like your limbs? If so, and I'm sure you do, go away... right now," Endal chuckled.

The large man didn't seem bothered and looked down at Kasumi. As he focused on her he noticed that she was moving. Kasumi had suddenly woken up from her trance state and was beginning to come round cautiously.  
  
Endal then noticed that she was fidgeting and used this moment of distraction to attack the stranger. He ran at him and swung his blade. The old man was ready and evaded the swinging razor edge. He then threw a left hook punch at Endal. Endal bent down to avoid it and kicked the man in his belly. The bearded man didn't seem effected by the strike and swung another punch. This time it hit Endal directly in the chin and he fell down in a heap. He was still clutching his sword and sliced it across the large man's leg. He cut across both his shins. The man yelped in shock and recoiled back from the range of the sword.  
  
Endal leap frogged to his feet and put his sword back on his belt holder. The large man was bent double seeing to his shins that were cleanly cut.

"You now see what my blade can do to old men," Endal laughed dryly.

The man looked up at Endal but then noticed Kasumi who was now quite widely awake and struggling against her bonds. She was chewing at the rope that tied her wrists together in desperate endeavour. He then looked to Endal and in some wild burst of anger charged at him in a roar.  
  
Endal quickly brought out his katana again and sidestepped out of the man's path but brought his sword up and to the side deliberately. The man ran straight into the blade. The cut-throat sharpness of the implement incised through his neck like butter and brought his head clean off. The body of the man ran on a few paces before falling down into the ground. The bearded head fell into the grass to Endal's side. In a horrific few last seconds of consciousness the man looked up at his killer and then closed his eyes. Endal was satisfied at the kill and wiped the blood drops from his weapon before putting it away again. He then noticed Kasumi by the log.

**Chapter four  
**

Kasumi fought wildly against her bondage but to no avail. She didn't get enough time to chew herself to freedom and couldn't quite grip her tanto effectively enough to cut the rope. Endal raced towards her.

"Oh no you don't," he said.

Kasumi looked up at him in anger. She remembered how she had been knocked out by the yellow mist and quickly could tell that Endal was aiming to take her somewhere. She knew she had to escape.  
  
Endal knelt to her side and grabbed her tanto from its sheaf.

"Almost forgot about that," he said.

He placed the tanto alongside his own blade on his waist belt.

"What are you doing Endal?" Kasumi asked.

"You are coming with me, that's all you need to know for now."

Kasumi began to struggle wildly and kicked herself away from Endal. She rolled as fast as she could to her side and fought in a panic against the rope. She took one large bite at the rope that knotted her wrists and tried to get herself to her feet. It was useless. It would take hours to chew through the strong rope and Kasumi had no way of defending herself with her feet and hands immobilised. Endal got near to her and held her down into the grass.

"Listen to me Kasumi you are coming with me. You have two choices: you come quietly, which is faster and better for you, or you resist. If you insist on resisting me I will punish you, and you don't want that."

Endal knew that with Kasumi now conscious it would be more challenging to drag her to the airport. He was also still tired and the battle he'd just had with the stranger had almost exhausted him.

"Endal please let me go," Kasumi panicked.

She had no idea where he was taking her but could only guess it wouldn't bode well for her.  
  
Endal decided to press on now. He didn't have time to rest and couldn't with Kasumi now conscious. He picked the kunoichi up forcefully and put her tied arms around his neck. He then stood up and resumed the march. Kasumi didn't struggle, knowing quite clearly when she was beaten.

"Just don't struggle, and don't think about trying to strangle me either... if you do I'll throw you over my shoulder and severely beat you," Endal screeched.

* * *

Shake was growing impatient. He had gone back upstairs and now just sat in a small room with one chair and a crappy old table. A television glared in the corner but he wasn't watching. His two bodyguards who he paid handsomely just to stand around with him were outside the room chatting to each other. Shake decided to ring Endal and find out how near he was. He dialled the number and waited for an answer.  
  
Endal was swift to respond and greeted Shake.

"Endal where are you, you near yet?" Shake asked.

"I'm real close now Shake, don't worry. She's woken up so it's slowed me down a little that's all."

"Good Endal, good. When you do arrive I'll be here with my men. We can take her down to the basement and then my man your job is complete," said Shake.

"Sounds good to me boss," Endal said.

Shake laughed and hung up. A cigar smoked away in an ash tray. He picked it up and took a considerable puff before blowing a large cloud of smoke into the air. A single small lamp lit the room, creating large shadows on a stripped wall.

* * *

The distance was closing between Kasumi and the airport. Endal had picked up the pace, maybe through desperation to reach the location. The girl had just submissively allowed herself to be carried like a sack. She knew that there was nothing she could do to prevent the inevitable except to just delay it. She didn't see the point. She was nervous of where Endal was taking her to and more importantly who he was working for. She didn't expect this had much to do with Hayate. It seemed to be more of a sinister plot than just an elaborate way of killing her.

"Endal please tell me where you're taking me?" Kasumi was desperate.

"Somewhere secluded where my client wants me to take you. That's all I know."

"Who is your client?" Kasumi asked.

"You're find out Kasumi, and besides, I don't know much about him myself."

Kasumi felt some sudden urge to attempt an escape. She wasn't sure where this sudden need stemmed from but it did and a rush of adrenaline hit her.  
  
Kasumi swiftly wrapped her arms tightly around Endal's neck and swung her legs enough to manage to kick the back of his knees causing him to lose balance and fall down flat on his face with her on top. Although her wrists were tied together she was still able to effectively clutch Endal by the neck. She brought her left arm around his neck, his chin resting on her bent elbow joint, and put her hands to one side of his head. She had done this so quickly the execution had surprised Endal and he'd had no time to react.  
  
Endal started to struggle but whenever he made any attempt to pivot or wrestle Kasumi put her full force on his neck, strangling him.

"Don't try to struggle, or I'll choke you," Kasumi ordered.

Endal was not prepared to just lay still and tried again to turn the tables. As soon as he started to move his arms Kasumi applied full force to his neck. He coughed and went bright red. He realised that she was clinging to him so tightly that he wouldn't be able to get her off of him even if he wasn't being chocked. She was too determined. He stopped struggling and lay submissively. Kasumi eased her pressure on his neck. Endal gasped for air.

"Endal now its you who has two choices: either you free my wrists using that dagger of yours or I strangle you to death and do it myself," Kasumi was deadly serious.

She knew that this situation required astute attention from herself. If Endal managed to turn the tables she'd be back to square one. She relied solely on her position and being able to strangle Endal. She hoped he'd be able to find her wrists and cut the rope in his current position.

"If I'm going to do that you're going to have to get off me," Endal said.

"No you don't, you can manage as you are, you have to," said Kasumi. "If you can't then I'll be forced to kill you, since I can't risk letting you out of this hold can I?"

Kasumi knew this would give Endal all the incentive he needed to try and free her from his position. He reached down and took the knife from his thigh strap and brought his arms up to reach of Kasumi's wrists as he lay on his front.

"Remember Endal, one false move and I won't hold back," said Kasumi.

Endal used his left arm to find the rope and once he did grabbed the knife with his right hand and carefully placed the blade on the rope loops. Kasumi watched attentively, making sure he wasn't about to cut her skin.  
  
Eventually, after a few seconds of fumbling, Endal began to sore away at the rope. Kasumi watched in delight as the first loop started to weaken as twines of the rope slowly broke away. She suddenly began to feel positive again; maybe she wasn't yet beaten after all.


	3. Arriving To Leave Chapters 5 & 6

_(Note: I appreciate the positive reviews thus far. Thank you. I am aware that there are instances where I've used the wrong words to describe things (Sore instead of Saw for example) but am currently unsure how I can edit my submissions without having to completely go over the formatting again. If this is possible and you know how to do it, please mail me, anyway, **The Hunted Kunoichi**, resumed.... Phonesis)_

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**Chapter Five**

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Shake was growing impatient. He resorted to watching the small television that transmitted a weak signal bombarded with scan lines and interference. He didn't have a clue what it was he was watching. It seemed like some endurance game show of sorts. A wacky, laconic, presenter in tinted pink sunglasses wailed in excitement as a group of obese men pounced into a pool of green liquid. Shake was from the west but could speak Japanese well enough to make out the bizarre dialogue.  
  
The man's patience then entirely diminished. He stood up and switched the box off. His cigar was long spent. He brought out a packet of cigarettes from his trouser pocket and put one into his mouth. He lit the stick with a silver lighter, its head shaped as a skull, the flame coming from the eye socket.  
  
The airport was small and its interior only consisted of a few rooms and a corridor leading to a spiral staircase heading into the basement. Shake strutted down the corridor towards the door leading out into the clearing outside. His two bodyguards watched him walk towards them. One of the men, the larger built of the two, spoke: 

"Going somewhere sir?"

Shake seemed enthralled by his cigarette and didn't make eye contact with his men.

"Yeah, I'm going outside for some fresh air, don't bother following me, its okay," he mumbled.

"As you wish sir," the bodyguard replied.  
  
The old wooden doorway churned open in reverberated protest as the aged rusty hinge squeaked with motion. Shake only partially pushed it open and squeezed his way through the gap, dusting off his jacket once outside. The sun rained down upon the overgrown clearing and the heat rays bobbed from the many dumped metallic barrels that scattered around the lost air strip. Shake took a few paces up a rough path until he was outside of the airport and entering the wild woodland that wrapped around the dwelling from all sides like it was a siege. He puffed away at his smoke stick whilst raising his face to the sun and soaking in its warmth. The cerulean sky was perfect, without a single cloud to blemish its clarity. It was at this point he noticed a speck of blue in an otherwise green world. He looked to his right and noticed with more prominence a blue shade within the woodland, amongst the trees. He decided to investigate in his usual flamboyant manner and swaggered towards the display. He took one final wisp of tobacco smoke before hurling the filter into the grass. With each step he took he could make out more detail. It wasn't until he was only a matter of metres away until he finally realised that the blue tone was clothing, it was Kasumi.  
  
Shake was very fast to react to this. He knew exactly what to do and ran as fast as his tight suit trousers allowed his legs to stretch back towards the hangar. As soon as he reached it he prized open the wooden doorway to the surprise of his two hired protectors.

"What's wrong sir?" The larger man asked.

"Where's the dart gun? Where is it?" Shake yelled.

The smaller of the two bodyguards, his hair wrapped in a ponytail, replied;

"It's here dude, you asked me to carry it."

He revealed a small firearm from his jacket, pre loaded with a blue dart. Shake belly laughed as he took hold of the weapon.

"Stay here boys, I'll be right back. I've got some game to catch," he laughed.

The man pushed open the wooden door again, creating a large enough gap to twist through. The bodyguards watched him disappear back up the dirt track, the sounds of mocking laughter fading with distance.

* * *

As the rope wore away Kasumi started to plan in her head what her next move would be. She felt an urge to simply escape and get away but another part of her wanted to find out where Endal had been planning to take her. Endal continued to saw away at the fibres until eventually the loops were all cut loose. With the slack Kasumi was able to bring her hands out of the web of rope and swiftly moved her arms away from each other in liberation. Endal then dropped the knife and continued to lay still.  
  
Kasumi knew that she was still in a sticky situation. Her feet were still tied and this meant she was still at a major disadvantage. 

"Endal remember what I said," she directed. "Don't try anything."

She quickly grabbed her tanto from Endal's belt and rolled to one side. In a flash she hacked at the rope with her instrument which cut across the thread with total ease. Finally, she was free. She pounced to her feet and looked to Endal. The shady figure had rolled to a tree and sat against it, smiling.

"Well done," he said aridly.

Kasumi looked around the area and then back to Endal.

"Where were you going to take me?" Kasumi asked inquisitively.

Endal stared into the soil and played with it in morbid contemplation.

"Somewhere," he said.

Kasumi sensed this conversation wouldn't be heading anywhere useful.

"Somewhere huh... Really?" Kasumi said sardonically. "Where exactly?"

Endal smirked. He was about to continue his abstract cover up when he noticed a cream coloured suit pop in and out of view from the trees behind Kasumi. He quickly realised it was Shake sneaking his way towards them.  
  
Endal then looked Kasumi in the eyes.

"I can't tell you Kasumi. All I will say is that we are very near the place, very near..."

Kasumi seemed ever so apprehensive about this new information and decided that it was likely the best she'd get out of Endal. She put her tanto back behind her waist and spoke:

"I'm going to go now Endal but I need you to understand one thing. If I even as much as see you again I won't show any mercy. I'm not going to harm you now, for that you should thank me, but just remember that if you try anything like this again I won't hold back."

Endal nodded in quick succession.

"Bye then," he commented.  
  
The kunoichi ignored Endal's sarcasm and turned to race away. But as she turned she spotted a man walking towards her from the swaying tall trees. He was holding a gun in his right hand, a devious expression forming on his tanned face.  
  
Kasumi paused dead in her tracks. An expression of shock formed on her pale Japanese face. Her brown eyes widened and she took a few paces back slowly. Shake stopped once he was a few feet from the girl, gun poised.

"So you must be..." Shake put his hand to his head in false concentration. "Kasumi... Ah yes Kasumi, the ninja girl."

He laughed and then looked to Endal.

"You having fun down there Endal?" He mocked.

Endal stood up and walked closer to his boss.

"Yeah... Funs the word I'd use to describe my day, hell yeah!" Endal seemed tired.  
  
Kasumi was studying Shake. She could tell intuitively that he was behind all of this and was ultimately who Endal was working for. She stared into his eyes, a dry look on her face. Shake just glazed back, his round sunglasses reflecting bright sunlight.

"Moments like this are really worth time to take in," Shake said. "Victory is just so final I'd say, would you say that Kasumi?"

Kasumi didn't have the energy to reply with anything profound.

"Battles can be won or lost, what matters is the final outcome."

Her words alarmed Shake.

"The final outcome huh? Hmm, enough chat," said Shake.

Without warning he raised his gun and fired a single shot into Kasumi's thigh. A blue dart sped out of the barrel with a whistled flare and embedded itself into the kunoichi's white stocking. She recoiled like a wounded animal and plucked the dart back out but the action was complete and the liquid remedy had already entered her system. She stood for a few moments blankly then felt her strength fail. She fell into the grass, her last sight Endal and Shake standing side by side, both laughing.

**Chapter Six  
**

Kasumi woke up in a small room. Her first sight was that of a white ceiling. As she slowly woke up and regained her faculties she discovered she was stretched out on a table with her hands and feet bound together and tied to each end of a flat surface. She slowly became more aware of her surroundings and begun to cautiously look around the confines of the room. There was little to see. It was dimly lit although visible enough to see. The walls were bare and the door on the other side of the room seemed metallic and sturdy. Kasumi then started to struggle and wriggle against the rope that tied around her wrists and ankles. She put all of her strength and effort into it and wildly fought her restraint. She knew quite quickly that there was no chance of her managing to break free from the bonds and submissively stopped her struggle and just lay perfectly still. Her boots had been removed as had all of the items and weapons that she had been carrying. Her white stockings failed to keep her warm, her feet were cold and she begun rubbing them together as they stood side by side.  
  
Her thoughts focused on who it was who'd done this to her, and where precisely it was she'd been taken to. She had a clear memory of how she had been shot by a dart and remembered what Endal had said about the place being near to where they already were. The table was metallic and reflected the light from a strip above. It made an electrical hum. Kasumi could spot flies swoop around the light source above her body. Kasumi just closed her eyes and entered a meditative state. It was silly to waste energy, she needed to focus.

* * *

Endal sat smugly on an old wooden rocking chair. With every rock and sway the wooden frame whined an annoying squeak. 

"You best stop rocking on that God damn chair before I throw it out the freakin window man," Shake snapped.

He was sitting on a decrepit red sofa on the other side of the room. When this airport had been in use this room had more than likely been used as the reception area.

"Where's my money Shake?" Endal enquired.

Shake coughed.

"Endal I didn't bring a suitcase full of the good stuff with me here you know. I needed to make sure this area was secure. But don't worry your money is near by, I've sent my two men out to fetch it. They will be back soon, and then you can go."

Endal wasn't particularly impressed with Shake's words but accepted them all the same.

"Sure, you've said that already pal. I need to book out of here as soon as... you hearing that?" Endal was lively.

"Man I'm hearing that, just chill. It's all good," said Shake.  
  
A few minutes of awkward silence went by as the two men sat in wait for the bodyguards to return from wherever it was Shake had got them to go. Endal had a few questions, and concerns, and just couldn't resist talking out:

"So, why do you want this girl anyway?"

"She's going to prove profitable to me," laughed Shake.

"How's that?" Endal asked.

Shake took a smoke from his gold packet and lit it in slow methodical style before replying.

"That girl, Endal, that girl is dynamite. I heard around town, in Tokyo, that she is being hunted down by an army of other, erm, I dunno, ninja's," Shake said. "She is being hunted down and this is major news in the warrior circuit. I found out her brother wants her dead, some guy called Hay-ya-tea or something. Quite frankly I don't care who the mother is."

"So..." Endal was intrigued.

"Well isn't it obvious? Shake asked.

Endal fumbled around in his chair and sat up with his head in his hands.

"Nope," he said.

Shake puffed away and pressed the ash into the tray.

"This guy wants her dead bad. Now I've got her. All I need to do is tell him I've got her and he will jump at the prospect of coming to me to get hold of her," Shake laughed. "I'll charge him of course; he'll pay me for her."

"You're selling Kasumi?" Endal was hardly impressed.

"You liking that scheme?" Shake asked.

"I've never heard anything so stupid in my life," Endal stated. "For a start how will you contact Hayate, I've done my own research you know. He's not exactly going to drive down here in a Subaru!"

"We live in a digital age Endal. Do you know what that means, it means mobile phones and even the modern day ninja's own them," Shake was arrogant. "And yes I do have his number; I have my ways of getting that type of information."  
  
Endal begun to feel cheated and used, like his warrior pride had been abused and used for some common kidnapping. He slowly felt less bothered about his financial incentive.

"Right okay, so what in the name of Jesus makes you think Kasumi's brother will have the kind of money your be asking for? He's a warrior, not a banker," Endal investigated.

"He's got money, he can sell things, priceless swords, shrines, all sorts," replied Shake.

With that there was a sound of violent thudding from outside the room. It was the front door opening up. The bodyguards were back.

"Finally," said Endal.  
  
The two men were swift to enter the room and both walked to Shake's side.

"Sorry Pascal, got lost," said the larger protector.

"Hold up," Endal said, sitting up. "Pascal?"

"Oh," giggled Shake. "Yeah that's my real name, Pascal Durron. Shake is just some random contact name I often use, do you really think I sign my cheques Shake!"

"Right I see," put Endal. "So, Pascal, let's see this cash."

Pascal nodded to his men. They both knelt down and placed a black suitcase on a wooden coffee table situated in the centre of the room. The smaller man with ponytail applied the combination to the lock and the case flicked open.  
  
Endal watched as the case revealed its content. It was only half full.

"What's this," the assassin raised loudly.

"Well this, my friend, is what you have earned. Did you really think I would pay you the full price for a half completed job?" Pascal was serious.

"What do you mean half completed?" Endal asked.

"I found you sitting by a tree with Kasumi about to bolt back into the woods. You didn't bring her to me, I had to jump in to sort that part out, you just managed to bring her to this area before getting waylaid like some punk amateur," Pascal yelled.

Endal let it sink in and moved to the case. The cash was in wads of $50 bills. He picked up a pile of the paper and flicked through it cautiously. Pascal watched him whilst his bodyguards stood to his side.

"You accept my logic?" Pascal shuffled in his sofa.

Endal was perplexed at this outcome but knew that he was dealing with a crafty character who, in the pettiest terms, was actually right. Endal hadn't managed to get Kasumi to him. He'd been outsmarted by her and it was Pascal Durron who'd actually saved the day. The more he thought about it the more he accepted it.

"Fair enough," Endal glumly put.

Pascal nodded and stood up with his arm out stretched;

"Well now I guess you can leave then. You've done your part."

The two men shook hands and Endal took the money from the case and put it in his own black holdall.

"So what will you do with Kasumi?" Endal was curious.

"I have someone coming down here, he should arrive soon. I'm paying him to, ha, keep the girl company until I get this deal with her brother sorted."

"Keep her company huh..." Endal said.

"He'll likely half kill her, I don't like to get my suit dirty," Pascal replied.  
  
Endal realised that Pascal was as sadistic and cold towards others as he was meticulous and obsessed about money. He didn't need to hurt Kasumi, he could just keep her in the basement until whoever it was that wanted her, or gave the best price, turned up to take her. But instead Pascal had hired someone to come and torture her, for no reason. Endal felt sickened by the man and felt dry about being anything to do with his plan. He took his bag and walked to the room's doorway then spoke:

"Bye then Mr. Durron."

"Thanks for your services Endal," Pascal replied.

Endal looked to the two bodyguards who both gave him a respectful glance. He then left the room and walked down the corridor until he reached the doorway out. After cranking it open and edging out of the gap he sighed, he knew he had some bitterness burning inside him regarding Pascal Durron and his plans for Kasumi. Endal respected Kasumi for being such a skilled and honourable warrior. He disliked seeing her dragged down into the level of Pascal's prize.  
  
Endal started to walk away, up the rough path which led back into the feral surroundings. As coincidence would have it he suddenly spotted a person walking towards the hangar from the direction of the woods. They were dressed in a black trench coat which drooped down across their body. Whoever it was they must have been hot in the intense heat as the sun continued to pour down sizzling rays. The figure got closer and Endal realised it was a man with short blonde hair. Just as the two were about to pass one another Endal spoke;

"Who are you?"

The blonde haired figure didn't stop moving and walked by Endal.

"Who are you?" He muttered, whilst passing.

Endal watched him as he walked down and reached the hangar door. He fiddled with the handle and then slipped inside, out of view. Endal then turned to face the woods. A mist was forming around the foliage. It was a long walk back to Tokyo.

_(Stay tuned for Part 4)_


	4. The Determined Edge Chapters 7 & 8

****

**Chapter Seven**

Kasumi entered a world of colours. She'd practised meditation to a degree where she was truly able to enter an alternate plain of reality. Her mind was focused on the images that spun in her head, so vibrant and real and so warm. For a moment she forgot about her predicament and where she was, she forgot about her situation and how volatile her life had become, but then she opened her eyes and left her calm state of inner peace.  
  
She didn't know what had sparked her to wake up but something had. There was little the girl could do except loosely wriggle against the rope. She had a good knowledge of knots and was able herself to perform flawless rope work. She knew that the way she was tied was quite inescapable. Her training had taught her this art form due to a kunoichi's constant need to use rope to achieve anything from setting a trap to bounding an enemy. This had been the first time in her life that she had been captured in this way and she felt deeply vulnerable and helpless.  
  
Time went by with slow progression. Kasumi stared at the fluorescent light above her and every now and then made another vain attempt at struggling free. It was at this moment of enduring boredom that there was a sudden sign of life. The door to the room clanged open allowing an ocean of light to pour into the room. Kasumi's eyes adjusted to the view. She could only make out a dark silhouette within the open doorway. The figure then entered the room and was followed by the cream-suited man she'd been darted by in the woods. Once he had entered the door slammed shut.

"Kasumi, hello there. I'm glad to see you're wide awake. Allow me to fully introduce my self to you now, I am Pascal Durron," came a voice.

Kasumi just laid still, her head turned to face the men as they stood to the right hand side of the table she lay on.

"This here is Yoshida... He's going to keep you company," Pascal muttered.

Yoshida made no reply and instead just stared into Kasumi's radiant eyes. He then removed his black trench coat to reveal more black clothing and rolled back his parted blonde hair. He seemed like a grim character, a cruel, cold face with little expression.

"What do you want with me?" Kasumi asked softly.

"Well here's the thing, in all honesty Kasumi, as much as you intrigue me, I don't really want anything from you. But I do know a man that does," Pascal howled.  
  
Kasumi felt on edge after these words but wasn't clear about what it meant.

"I don't understand..." The girl whispered.

Pascal removed his sunglasses and wiped his face with the back of his right hand.

"I'm just going to sell you to someone who, well, really wants to get a hold of you," he said. "Your brother Kasumi, I'm just capturing you to give to him."

Kasumi's heart sunk. She felt a surge of emotion rush through her and pain in her belly, her heart charka throbbed with sadness and concern.

"Hayate?" Kasumi stammered.

"Well done, you can pronounce it," Pascal laughed, looking at Yoshida. "More than I could do."

"So anyway in the mean time, before he comes to collect you or whatever he does, Yoshida here is going to play with you. I've heard he's very good at his work, which is mostly torture and inflicting pain. I'll come down to watch a little later but I've got business to see to now, have fun kids," Pascal announced.

Kasumi knew that if he was telling the truth, and was about to inform Hayate about having her captured, her brother would act on the information and come here. She also knew that this would mean he'd be forced to send shinobi's here to kill her. She had to escape, and fast.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"How much does a captured kunoichi fetch nowadays," Pascal laughed.

"He won't pay you," Kasumi said.

"Oh he will, it's that or no Kasumi, I'll just kill you and bail."

With that Mr. Durron nodded to Yoshida and left the room speedily. Once the door had re-closed with a loud boom Kasumi focused her glare on Yoshida, a nervous twitch jolting across her body.  
  
Yoshida smiled and stretched his arms whilst warming himself up to one side of the room. He then knelt down and fiddled with his coat which he had dumped in a corner. He revealed a small bag which he had in one of the coat pockets. Upon opening the bag he brought out a series of scalpels and needles and placed them on the ground by the table.

"You like my instruments?" Yoshida asked.

His accent was strong and unclear.

"Yoshida why are you doing this?" Kasumi was tense.

"I'm getting paid and enjoy my work," Yoshida mumbled.

He picked up a small, sharp pin and walked to Kasumi's side.

"How sensitive are you?" He asked.

Kasumi couldn't control herself and tensed up in fear of what might be coming. She felt so helpless and exposed. The man then walked down to her feet and clutched her right foot by the toes, stretching out the sole forcefully.

"What are you doing," stuttered Kasumi.

Yoshida didn't reply and instead proceeded to lightly poke Kasumi's sole with the pin head. Kasumi protested in wild thrashing but knew she couldn't escape. With every touch of the pinhead Kasumi yelped in pain. It felt like being pinched, only much worse and it didn't help that the girls feet were particularly sensitive.  
  
The torturer didn't stop his assault and continued poking her sole, from the ball of her foot to the toes. He started prodding harder and faster, Kasumi's reactions were a mixture of agony and rage as she floundered around the tabletop futilely. Yoshida then changed foot and grabbed Kasumi's left foot by the toes. He gripped the white stocking and held it around her toes tightly which effectively kept her foot in position. Kasumi tried to bring her sole down to rest against the tabletop but was unable to resist the strength of Yoshida's hands. He started poking her left foot like he'd done with the right. For such a simple torture it was truly effective and after only a few seconds of it Kasumi was back in her desperate state of panic and distress. Every touch of the pinhead sparked an uncontrollable spasm all across her body. It tingled as electrical impulses tickled up her spine. She was growing more and more desperate as the man sped it up even further and prodded ever harder.  
  
This cruel torment went on for several more minutes. Yoshida hadn't changed his technique but just continued swapping feet and increasing the pace and pressure of each touch. Kasumi was well and truly wound up now and sweat dripped from her cold body. Yoshida then ceased the onslaught and walked back to the side of the table and his line of implements. Kasumi was panting heavily and closely watched him move around with her watery brown eyes. She'd built up a vast rush of adrenaline whilst being tormented and felt more fired up and capable than ever. Energy had come rushing into her from her devotion and drive.  
  
Yoshida bent down, picking up a rusty scalpel, already stained with dry blood.

"Ah yes, this will do yes," he muttered to himself.

Kasumi lay perfectly still and closed her eyes. She was deep in focused concentration and took slow, calm, intakes of air. Yoshida was captivated by her behaviour and walked back to her side with the rusty scalpel in one hand.

"Now we will begin the cutting," he evilly laughed.

Just as he was about to bring the scalpel downwards towards Kasumi's belly the girl opened her eyes and in a burst of energy and power snapped both her legs back against the rope that tied them to the edge of the table. She done this so quickly and with such strength the rope cords snapped and her legs raised high into the air as she lay flat. Yoshida had no time to react, both Kasumi's legs spun up and her feet struck him directly in the face. He stumbled backwards before slamming against the adjacent wall and fell down to the ground unconscious, the scalpel hitting the solid floor with a metallic ding.  
  
Kasumi back flipped until both her legs went over her head and her feet touched the cold floor. This caused her whole body to flip back with her legs until she stood bent double at the head of the table with her hands still tied to it. She got on her knees and started to chew at the rope furiously. The taste of rope and the squeak it made with contact from saliva reminded her of her previous fix with Endal.  
  
Yoshida seemed to be stirring. He slowly sat up, his hand clutching his forehead in objection. Kasumi turned her attention to him as he begun to stumble to his feet in a daze. He was within her kicking range and just as he turned to face her she launched a swift front kick into his cheek. He spun around and fell against the wall, sitting upright with his head bowed limply. Kasumi continued attacking the rope with her teeth. She had to manage to free herself.  
  
****

**Chapter Eight  
**

"Hello, who's that," asked Pascal.

His mobile phone was old and the signal only just capable of dialling out. He sat on the old red sofa upstairs with his men chatting outside in the sun.

"I want to speak to Haya... Erm, Hay..tee is it? You know who I mean, get him on the line," Pascal continued.

The voice on the other end seemed confused at best.

"What you want?" A lady asked impatiently.

"What, hey, listen up. This is important stuff now, get your leader on the phone," he said.

"You want to speak manager, manager not here. Me say you called," the lady answered.

Pascal was losing his rag.

"Who am I talking to?" he asked.

"This is the Golden Dragon, I am receptionist," came a reply.

"The Golden Dragon, right so this is the right number yeah, Hayate's place?" Pascal asked.

"You want to place order, I've never heard of Hayate," the lady said.

"What!? Order, huh? What do you mean?"

"This is a take away restaurant sir, did you want to place an order..."

Pascal hung up and hurled his phone across the room recklessly.  
  
He studied the piece of paper which he held in his hand. It was the information he'd been given from his source regarding how to get in touch with Hayate. It had clearly proved false. Pascal was all out of cigarettes and instead of lighting up just sat in thought, he needed a plan b.

* * *

Kasumi toiled with the rope for what seemed like an age, gnawing and chewing at the twine that webbed her wrists. She then struck gold and bit away the last part of the main loop which gave the rest of the entanglement enough slack to allow her to twist and pull her wrists to freedom. As soon as she'd achieved this she took a deep breath of relief and looked to Yoshida.  
  
She walked over to him and studied his closely. He was still out cold from her kick but she wasn't in a mood to take precautions. She grabbed him by the wrists and pulled his body across the room. She managed to salvage enough rope from her bonds on the table to wrap around Yoshida's wrists and ankles. She laid him out on his front and tied his arms behind his back and then his ankles together. She then joined his wrists to his ankles, tying him in a hogtie. She made sure the knots were secure and tight enough without digging into his skin and then collected up all the scalpels and other gadgets he'd brought with him and placed them on the tabletop, out of his reach as he lay on the ground.  
  
The crafty kunoichi then walked to the door and clutched the handle. She didn't know whether or not it was locked and hoped for the best. Luck had it that the door was just closed but unlocked. She slowly cranked open the large entry and crept into the corridor. She closed the door as quietly as she could manage and studied the corridor she now found herself in. It was as dimly lit as the room with bare walls and a rough solid floor. Pipes jetted across the sides of the walls and dispersed into cracks and crevices. The whole place seemed discarded and decaying, corrosion tarnished the pipes and dust rested on the solid surfaces. Kasumi wanted to find her stuff before anything else and looked around to find any potential place it may have been stored. She sneaked up the corridor the only way she could, the other way was a dead end, and before she came across a spiral staircase going upwards she noticed another door to her left. She had nothing to lose and tested to lock. It opened without protest and revealed a small cupboard. In this instance curiosity had not killed the cat. Kasumi could make out amongst the rubble of old paint cans and broom sticks her belt and accessories, tanto and boots. Relief was not the word.

* * *

Endal's pace was slow and his mind a daydream. The sunny weather turned to a damp foggy haze. A light shower begun to treacle from the heavens. It was calming and soft. It created a misty miasma of moisture. Endal was moving in amongst the trees in more or less the same direction he'd come from with Kasumi. As he marched deeper into the lush forests he started to notice the natural surroundings. He was in a perfectly calm, magnificent, place. It was a place of natural beauty through colour, smell, and content. The sun, still managing to sneak through the haze, poured down from above with warmth, adding bright light to the varied green tones and causing the wet leaves to sparkle as water reflected.  
  
He deserved a rest and knelt down into the thickets. He looked around his surroundings. To every side of him was bushes, trees, grass, and dead leaves laying dormant in bulk, crunching underfoot. This was what sparked Endal's attention as he rested, the sound of cracking dry leaves being pressed, being stepped on.  
  
The masked assassin turned his head in the direction the sound had come from. His eyes meticulously glared around in search for something, anything. He didn't move from his position, however, he paused in preparation. He suddenly then noticed a dim outline of a figure to his left side, from where the sound had come. Now he knew someone was near, and where they were, he relaxed slightly. Endal decided to pretend he hadn't noticed them and remained seated in the grassy bed. He looked to the ground and attentively homed in on the sounds, and his more sophisticated instincts.  
  
His eye then caught a glimpse of the figure as they got closer. He could tell that whoever it was they had dyed hair, it looked purple but this was a mere dot of tone within the eerie woodland haze. Endal continued to watch on, realising that whoever it was they were destined to walk slap bang into where he was sitting. He felt an urge to prepare for a fight and his right hand itched as it rubbed the handle of his katana.  
  
Tension mounted as the moment came where Endal had calculated the figure would emerge from the fog. But that moment came, and went. His heart raced and he began to lose his initial cool. He took a few squints around but saw no-one. It was almost deadly silent, there was no sound. A few more moments went by in this edgy fashion until something happened. Endal quickly spotted a flash of purple to his right side and turned to face it but it was too late. A figure dressed in tight black clothing spun from the bushes in insane speed and landed directly in front of Endal as he sat in the grass. Endal looked up at the figure whose sharp blade was already touching his gullet. It was a girl; she had short purple hair and striking crimson eyes.

"Hi," she announced. "I'm Ayane."


	5. Guns For Hire Chapters 9 & 10

_(Note: This part is quite long, but I guess you hardly need me to tell you that! Phonesis :)_

****

**Chapter Nine  
**

Kasumi groped with her footwear until she finally felt comfort. She had placed all of her belongings back into their rightful places upon her attire and felt more confidence building inside her with this reunion of her items. She took a glance at the blade of her tanto sword before swooping it back into place behind her back. An electric generator started to drone in the corner with spooky gentle cadence.  
  
The cunning kunoichi then shuffled out of the store room and looked to the spiral staircase that spun upwards in a twisty path. She was fully prepared to do whatever would be necessary to get away from this place and felt ready to take on whoever may be up there. She took her first step up the metallic flight of stairs slowly and with caution. She was curved low and half in a fighting posture, her eyes focused and her mind as sharp as a razor. The walls arced rapidly as her pace continued on. Eventually Kasumi reached the top of the steps and peaked around the final corner of the spiral to take in the view. There was another corridor much the same in design and size as the one she'd come from but this time the far end of the hallway ended with a large wooden doorway. Kasumi imagined this would lead to the great outdoors; she just needed to take up that offer.  
  
She slowly, meticulously, tiptoed sideways until her full figure was exposed to the view of the corridor. Her eyes studied every angle, look, and cranny. She bent low and started to sneak forward, the tip of her sword initially scraping along the solid floor.  
  
Suddenly the girl stopped dead in her tracks. She'd spotted a door a few metres up the corridor to the right. The doorway was ajar and she could hear the distinct sound of laughter and conversation coming from the gap. She leant against the wall briefly, her heart racing intensely. As she stared at the gap in the doorframe she noticed a hand abruptly appear on the wooden border. Someone was inside the room, about to come out, and was hesitating in opening the door due to a conversation still commencing. The pale hand was still but the door began to swing slightly, inwards and outwards. Kasumi didn't falter and crept backwards before pouncing back behind the final turn in the spiral staircase, out of view.  
  
Her brown eyes then took a cheeky glimpse down the corridor. As she done this a figure walked out of the room she'd observed. It was a male in a dark suit with long hair tied back in a ponytail. He was holding a bottle and took a swig from it as he walked towards the large wooden door down the opposite end of the passage. With a firm tug the man slipped out through the door. Kasumi noticed daylight decant into the dark indoors from the other side of the entrance. It must be the way out.  
  
Kasumi felt poised to charge the door and break away in speed but a part of her was still unsure. She felt a need to stay put, as if her intuition was speaking to her yet again. As she pondered in this thought for a moment she heard the sound of a vehicle roar into the area outside. A loud choking engine was switched off and the piercing clang of a door closing frightened the birds away. Kasumi bowed ever lower and gaped at the wooden doors.  
  
As she secretly observed the surroundings two more figures suddenly popped from the doorway the other man had come from. One was a large man in another dark suit but the other was a figure Kasumi had already had an introduction to, it was Pascal. He was carrying his phone in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. The man seemed excited.

* * *

Pascal allowed his large bodyguard to push open the door. He then moved outside of the hangar and looked at the old rusty jeep that had pulled up outside. The three passengers had already got out. The fourth, the driver, sat in his seat glazing out through the muddy windscreen. Pascal could make out the dark moustache and sketchy features of the crooked criminal through the glass. He was smiling at Pascal.

"Ah you made it then," laughed Pascal.

He took a final gulp of wine then hurled the glass into the clearing. It didn't smash.

"Pascal Durron," the driver commented bluntly. "So you've not put on weight then."

He then got out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. He was wearing a blue and red flowery shirt and a large gold necklace hung from his neck.  
  
The three other men who had come in the jeep had walked over to Pascal's two bodyguards. Their attire was rough yet menacing. Guns hung from their backs and belts of ammunition wrapped around their torsos. They looked like a bunch of mercenaries. The five men were chatting away in unison, it seemed like they all knew each other.

"So..." Pascal started to walk towards the driver. "You took my call seriously Chad?"

"No, I just drove down here, waisting time and petrol, just to see your ugly face one last time," Chad bellowed mockingly.

He leant against the bonnet of his ride whilst Pascal came and stood next to him.

"Chad, Chad, Chad, how I've missed your wit," Pascal said.

A more serious expression then formed on his face.

"No but seriously, you up for my job?"

"Of course I am," Chad answered.

Pascal smiled.

"Good. Well there's not much more you need to know than what I've told you on the phone. I need you and your men to go to this village I was talking about and pick up a man called Hayate. Bring him here. Just tell him that you know a man who has caught Kasumi. He will come along just fine," Pascal said.

Chad looked up to the sky and then back at Pascal.

"Sounds like a pretty simple deal to me friend. Me and my boys are more use to the guns for hire type jobs, you know? But hell this is easy money. But, well, why don't you just do it yourself?" Chad was curious.

"I need to stay here, to babysit a nice young Japanese girl," Pascal laughed.

"Kasumi right? The girl this Hayate guy will want to come see?" Chad asked.

"Yeah that's right," said Pascal.

Chad stretched his arms then yawned. He then spoke:

"Right, well sounds good to me. I doubt it will be too hard finding the village, and once that part is done it's a piece of... cake."

Chad looked to his men who were still chatting away in the clearing.

"Hey before we shoot back off and do this for you hows about you let us into your," he paused. "What is it?"

"My airport hangar," smiled Pascal.

"Yeah that. How about you let us come in for a drink and rest. We've been driving for ages getting here," asked Chad.

Pascal didn't seem surprised by the question.

"Why of course you can. My men have managed to stumble across a few bottles of beer and wine, plenty for all," he answered.  
  
The group of men then gathered up with Pascal in the middle. They then all began to march towards the wooden doorway which led back into the building.

* * *

Kasumi had heard voices and laughter from outside but hadn't been able to soak in any detail. All she knew was that Pascal was trying to get in contact with her brother. She didn't care if he'd managed that task yet or not. She just knew that her only concern was to escape and get away from this dark character.  
  
The wooden door suddenly cranked open as an arm pulled it by the handle. Kasumi's wide eyes recoiled back behind the wall as a group of men strutted into the corridor. Kasumi then realised that the entire area she was in was covered in shadow. She wouldn't be seen. She sneaked forward back into the corridor but remaining within the shadow. She watched as the crowd all filtered into the room that was positioned to her right, just before the exit door. The final man entered the room, slamming the door shut with reckless force. The men seemed rowdy and it wasn't long until the kunoichi could hear them screeching in banter once more.  
  
It was obvious what Kasumi had to do. There was only one way out and she needed to move. Without a moments more delay she leaned up and shuffled forward along the passage. In a perfect display of stealth she moved by the door to the room the men had entered in total silence, not that they'd have heard much above their own sound. Kasumi reached the wooden door and put her hand to the handle. She pushed it open and her eyes were struck by daylight. It stung as her senses became retuned to the outside after her time in the murky interior.  
  
Just as the girl was about to race away back into the wild one of Chad's mercenaries busted through the door to the room behind her.

"I'm taking a whiz," he yelled.

As the words left his mouth he turned to face Kasumi who stared at him in a composed stance.

"Jesus," the man shrieked. "Hey guys that girl's here, she's freed herself."

The man tried to attack Kasumi with a right hook as he came charging at her. She blocked this by raising her left arm to meet the blow and then struck him with a series of fast jabs into his stomach with her right. He fell back into another mercenary as they came darting out of the room in reaction to the shouting.  
  
Kasumi didn't move an inch. The second mercenary threw his ally to the ground, who was coughing and clutching his stomach. He then ran at Kasumi in a pump of undisciplined adrenaline. As his body came racing into her she grabbed both his wrists and fell back to the ground and pressed her feet into his belly. She then launched him over her, using her legs as a pivot as they slotted into his stomach. His body rose up into the air as his feet were taken away from the ground and then he slammed through the wooden doors fiercely, breaking them into a series of useless timber boards. He landed onto his back in the dry soil outside. Kasumi then leapt to her feet and ran outside, jumping over him, and across the airport clearing.  
  
The rest of the men were not far behind. They'd come charging out of the room with slight delay. Pascal was behind them, his two bodyguards to either side of the cream suit. Chad ran into the clearing and looked down at the man who'd been thrown through the doors.

"Idiot," he yelled. "What way did she go?"

The man was clutching his lower back as he lay awkwardly amongst broken slabs of wood.

"She bolted off into the woods," he coughed out.

Chad's men formed up by his side, the one who Kasumi had hit in the corridor still clutching his stomach. Chad then yelled out a command and the men brought out their guns.  
  
Kasumi hadn't had time to reach the tree line and instead hid behind a barrel positioned in the middle of the strip of overgrown runway. She had no more cover after this and knew that the men were beginning to walk towards her in a line. She looked down to her belt, a shuriken glistening.

**Chapter Ten**

Endal sat perfectly still. He could feel the cold sharp blade touch his neck and jolt with any movement.

"Ayane huh? So is that name meant to mean anything to me?" Endal was blunt.

He was pretty tense and was breathing heavily. He'd lost grip of his sword in the scuffle and knew that there was nothing he could do. Ayane smiled softly.

"It's funny isn't it?" Ayane's voice seemed irritated. "...How things in life link up, past events linking with the present."

Endal was confused.

"Look, who the hell are you?" He asked.

"I thought my name would remind you of who I am. But obviously I was too positive about the ability of your memory," Ayane knelt to his side with her sword still in place. "...I heard a rumour that someone was planning on capturing a relative of mine just so they could sell them on. I decided to do a little investigation. It turned out that a man called Shake had been asking around in bars the question of where my half brother, Hayate, lived."

As Ayane spoke Endal started to feel a little more than just tense.

"Shake then made the mistake of buying false information from a friend of Hayate's regarding where Hayate stays and a number to call him on. This friend then informed Hayate and myself. Shake had even been stupid enough to tell this guy where he was going to take Kasumi. Isn't it funny how whilst I head through the woods towards that very location I stumble across you walking away with a holdall full of cash!?"

Endal then noticed how his black bag had fallen to its side, a wad of money sticking out, half on the grass, fully exposed.

"Isn't it funny how I stumbled into you, Endal!?"

Ayane twitched her blade against the shady character's throat as she spoke.  
  
Endal sprang up in alarm.

"Okay, so how do you know my name? He asked.

Ayane laughed.

"You still don't remember do you? About a year ago you tried to kill me Endal. You're an assassin, like me, and tried to kill me in my sleep. I remember the whole thing very clearly, I woke up, we scuffled and you fled. I then found out who you were and who had paid you. I've since dealt with that guy, but had always hoped to find you one day," Ayane lectured. "And now here we are: you, me, and no one else around to trouble us."

Endal needed a few seconds to take this all in. He thought back across his dark, blood stained, past and then it hit him with stark shock, a vain recollection of sneaking into a girl's room, the intention to kill her, that girl had had purple hair, too.

"Okay so I tried to kill you once long ago. You remembered my face did you? Big deal. You want to fight me? Let's fight!" He yelled.  
  
Ayane concentrated on the face of Endal as he spoke. He seemed fearful, like the memory of their last encounter had proved her the more skilled warrior.

"So, Endal, why are you in the woods with a bag full of money?"

The purple haired warrior was curious although had a good idea.

"Go to hell," smiled Endal.

He avoided eye contact with Ayane and instead stared blankly into the foliage.

"Shake even told Hayate's friend that he was going to use someone, the best he described them as, to capture Kasumi. He's too slow to do it I guess. Tell me Endal, did my half-sister cause you much grief?" Ayane wasn't going to back down.

Endal had done his research into this situation and knew about Ayane and her relationship with Kasumi. What he hadn't known up until now was that he had already had a run in with Ayane in the past.

"Okay okay, let's do this huh. Let's do it. Yeah I captured your sister, and yeah I got paid. And, you know, yeah, she gave me grief..." Endal was nervous.  
  
With that admission to what she already strongly suspected Ayane withdrew her blade and stood up. She threw her sword into the grass, took a few paces back and then got herself in a stance.

"No one tries to bribe Hayate, what's our business is our business. Kidnapping her for profit and using our troubles as your way into a quick buck won't stand. You tried to kill me once, now let's see what Endal's got," Ayane fumed.

Endal got up slowly and without much care. He stood facing Ayane side on with his head turned to look at her. In his heart he knew that he was already tired and still aching from his fight with Kasumi. He didn't have much left to give.

"You want to see what I've got do you?" He said quickly. "Well take a peek!"

He brought out his dagger from its thigh belt and without any hesitation threw it towards Ayane, aiming for her neck. The knife blade spun in a vertical axis in a swift gliding motion. Ayane was fast to react and cart- wheeled sideways to avoid it. The dagger spun by her with only inches to spare and fell into the grass. As soon as Ayane had finished her acrobatic manoeuvre she regained her stance and closed in on Endal.  
  
Endal spun on his left foot and launched a spinning front kick with his right leg. It glided over Ayane's head as she bent low to dodge it. She then back flipped with immense speed. Both her legs shot up into the air and struck Endal square in the jaw simultaneously. As Endal fell back violently Ayane swiftly completed her flip until she stood back in her stance. Endal lay in the grass yelping in protest.  
  
He looked up to Ayane and then looked to his left. He noticed his sword sparkling in the hazy atmosphere. It was teasing him, drawing him to clutch it. The fog was closing in fast, it was becoming very dense. Endal knew that Ayane was more skilled, faster, and likely more sharp than he was. He didn't see the point in just losing the fight without first trying a little improvisation. He quickly rolled to his left and grabbed hold of his sword. He jumped up and smiled as he waved it around, shuffling back towards Ayane.

"That won't help you one bit," smiled Ayane.

Endal didn't reply. Instead he initiated his attack, swinging his blade from side to side at Ayane. The purple-haired girl evaded it by stepping back. She kept this up until they'd danced a good few feet backwards. Ayane suddenly came close to a tree. Before she struck it from behind she jumped forward and in a brilliant display of lithe movement and perfect gymnastics ran both her legs up the tree. This allowed her to effectively partially run up it backwards and then she bent from her waist and flipped her legs forward in perfect timing. Endal could only watch as a pair of black boots raced into his face, one after the other. He collapsed in vicious force as Ayane managed to complete her spin and land on both feet.  
  
Endal lay in the grass directly in front of Ayane. His nose was broken and bleeding quite profusely and the immensity of the aching around his jaw and forehead throbbed in enormity. A headache had also sprung itself upon him from the harsh blows. Ayane looked down at him smugly before speaking;

"You really don't have that much to give, do you?"

Endal knew that there was nothing he could do to defend himself any further against Ayane. He couldn't compete with the capability of the female ninja.  
  
"Your right, I've nothing left Ayane. You win," he said submissively.

Ayane didn't seem impressed.

"And there was me gearing up for a fight," she grinned.

Endal didn't know what card to play but went for an underhand one.

"I don't suppose I can interest you in some money?" He asked, pointing to his holdall across the wilderness.

"Hmm let me see, I think not. Besides what's to stop me from taking all of that money now anyway? You?" Ayane giggled furtively.

After her words the girl started to pace up and down by Endal's side. She knew that her opponent was pretty much beaten. Endal sighed in defeat. He didn't know what was coming, but suspected the worst.


	6. Running On Empty Chapters 11 & 12

****

**Chapter Eleven  
**

Kasumi clutched a hand full of her ninja stars. She only had a few of them but was particularly skilled in their use. She could hear the men step ever closer to her position and knew that it would only be a matter of seconds until they could see her legs cowered behind the red barrel. She needed to act now.  
  
A figure dressed in blue suddenly leapt into the view of the mercenaries. Kasumi jumped from behind the barrel and rolled across the ground. She knelt on her knees, facing the men.

"There she is!" Chad yelled.

His men raised their AK-47 assault rifles up into firing position. Pascal was back near the broken up wooden door with his protectors.

"Hey wait," he screamed. "Don't shoot her; we can't kill her, yet."

Kasumi was close and prepared to hurl a shuriken but Pascal's words had stopped her. She suddenly remembered that these guys weren't looking to kill her.  
  
Chad seemed annoyed.

"Okay don't move," he yelled at Kasumi.

He whispered something to his men and then they started to walk towards her. As they closed in Chad spoke;

"Just because I can't kill you Kasumi don't mean I can't shoot you!"

He aimed his pistol at her leg and released the safety. Kasumi knew exactly what to do. She stood up and in a swift movement launched a ninja star at Chad's thigh. It made contact with his leg almost instantaneously and he howled in pain before falling on his face. Kasumi then raced at Chad's three men. She knew they wouldn't fire at her.  
  
The kunoichi raced into the middle of the men. One tried to strike her with the butt of his rifle. She evaded the wooden frame and drove a knee strike into the man's chest. He stumbled back as another came charging from Kasumi's side. Kasumi fell to the ground and brought out her left leg. She spun it around, sweeping the mercenary from his feet. Kasumi then leaped back to her feet and blocked an incoming jab from the third gunman. She clutched his arm and turned around. She then bent down and threw him over her shoulders. By the time he had landed the other two men had got back up and Kasumi jumped up and performed a sideways split in midair. Both her legs made contact with each man as they came running at her from either side. She landed gracefully as the men fell down to her sides.  
  
Her work wasn't done and the man she'd hurled over her shoulder had got back up. He swung a left hook which Kasumi had no troubles countering. She clutched his wrist and bent it, forcing him to go with the pressure and jump into the air, spinning around and landing on his back. Kasumi could tell he was going to try to get right back up so as he begun to move she drove a punch directly into his face. He was out cold.  
  
Kasumi then looked to the other two mercenaries. One was showing no signs of life, lying limply with his arms wrapping around his chest. The other was stumbling to his feet.

"Don't come any closer," Kasumi warned.

She hated having to fight people who she knew, deep down, had no chance against her. This wasn't big headedness on her part, it was compassion. The man didn't take any notice of the warning and stormed towards Kasumi in a position that suggested he was going for a rugby tackle. Kasumi simply launched a front kick, her foot striking his head. The man fell down onto his front and didn't get back up. Kasumi turned around and looked at Chad who sat with his pistol aimed straight at her.

"It's been fun watching you deck my men," he said. "But now it's time to end this show. This is for my thigh."

He aimed his gun at her leg and laughed grimly. Kasumi pounced into the air as high as her strength allowed her just at the instant where Chad fired a shot. A loud boom echoed out, a plethora of birds fled from the rooftops. The bullet whistled into the sky, missing its target. Kasumi had flipped in the air in flawless elegance and landed behind Chad. Before he could react Kasumi had put her tanto to his neck.

"Drop your gun," she ordered.

Chad complied in an instant.  
  
As Kasumi watched him shiver by her feet she looked towards Pascal. He was some distance away, still by the hangar door. His two men had removed their black jackets, stretching in preparation, gearing up for a fight. Kasumi then looked back at Chad, unsure what to do with him. He was clutching his thigh, the metal star still embedded into the flesh.

"Kasumi," yelled Pascal. "Don't even think about running away. I've got a gun in my hand and trust me I could hit you from here without any troubles. And I don't think your toy stars can make this range."  
  
Kasumi knew not to underestimate the power of a gun and treated the threat deadly seriously. She put her tanto back around her back and kicked Chad's pistol further from his grasp.

"Stay away from me or I'll be forced to injure you further," the kunoichi said.

Chad nodded in defeat. He had no intention to do much more than just see to his wound. To him Kasumi was just a name; he had nothing personal going on and had only come for the money. Kasumi then started to walk towards Pascal. She flexed her fingers and rolled her head around her neck in brief preparation. Pascal's bodyguards stood in front of Pascal in a line going forward. This was obviously the order she'd have to fight them in, the larger man first, the pony tailed figure second... and then Mr. Durron.

* * *

Ayane suddenly stopped pacing and looked down at her beaten foe. 

"So you're all used up? Well I've got use for you yet," she said.

Endal no longer had enough energy to care about what was coming. He was just concerned over the pains in his head that were beginning to affect his ability to think straight. He'd taken too many blows to the head for one day.

"Oh yeah..." He replied.

"I'm not absolutely certain where this airport place is. Since your now the expert you can take me, and I'm sure Kasumi would be pleased to see her kidnapper again, wouldn't you?" Ayane giggled.  
  
Ayane's feelings regarding Kasumi were still the same as ever, she despised her, but she had still felt compelled to act against this sinister plan to capture her. If anything she wanted to get a hold of the guy who'd planned it more than she wanted Kasumi, although the thought of catching up with her half-sister was very appealing to the young girl. She just refused to allow a bunch of criminals to con Hayate into buying Kasumi from them.  
  
Hayate wasn't even aware that Ayane had gone on this undertaking. He had planned to make Shake think he'd won, by coming to the location Shake would have invited him to go to but then simply dealing with Shake and taking Kasumi – not to pay him. The location of Hayate's home Hayate's friend had given Shake was a fake but one which Hayate had planned to wait at for when Shake or whoever he sent came along. This was the plan, but Ayane wanted a more direct approach.  
  
Endal seemed concerned about Ayane's decision and closed his eyes.

"I'm not moving an inch," he whispered.

Ayane was quick to reply;

"You've got a choice Endal," she said. "...Either you take me to Kasumi or I kill you, right here, right now. Don't think I won't do it."

She stood over him, looking down with a deadly serious expression.

"You mean very little to me Endal," she continued. "You're now treading on very thin ice. Now all I ask of you is to take me to Kasumi, then we can go from there."

Endal started to realise that he would be foolish to resist any further. He slowly sat himself up. As he moved he realised quite how sore his bruising was becoming.

"I guess I've got no choice," he said.

"Now that's more like it," the girl replied.  
  
Ayane walked over to where she had thrown her sword and picked it back up.

"Well no time like the present, let's get moving, Endal," she commanded.

Endal clambered up slowly. He ached like an old dog but still had something left.

"You can leave your blades here," Ayane said. "Got anything I should know about still on you?"

Endal shook his head.

"I'm clean... Ayane," he sighed.

Ayane looked around his clothing to make sure. She seemed satisfied.

"Well get moving then, I'm following you now," Ayane replied.

Endal then watched as the girl picked up his bag of money and put the strap around her shoulders.

"Now," she demanded.

Endal begun to trudge back in the direction he'd come from. The fog was still dense but he knew the area well enough to remember what way to go. Ayane remained close behind him. She'd put her sword around her back but kept a close eye on her catch.  
  
Distance raced along as the two figures trundled through the forest. Endal knew that they were heading very close to the airport now and he really didn't like the idea of actually making that destination. He had no idea what would be going on there by now but expected Kasumi would already be half dead. He suddenly paused in his tracks. Ayane had been so concerned in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed and almost bumped right into his back.

"Hey," she yelled. "Get moving Endal."

Endal felt some race of adrenaline pump inside. His refusal to accept defeat was his weakness and he suddenly tried to turn the tables. He moved his head back quickly and managed to strike Ayane in the face with the back of his skull. She was partially stunned by the strike and clutched her forehead. Endal turned around and drove a punch square into her right cheek. She fell over from the blow. Endal then ran away with as much speed as his legs would allow for. He wanted to reach the airport but with enough time to warn Pascal of Ayane's presence.  
  
Ayane pounced up from the grass in anger. She'd noticed the way Endal had darted off and without any delay chased after him. The young girl had no trouble in running a fast continuous pace and soon spotted a dark figure disappearing in and out of the trees ahead. It was now a question of pace and stamina.

**Chapter Twelve**

Kasumi slowly scuffled towards her first opponent. He had removed his jacket and tie revealing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The man seemed focused and raised his clenched fists. His stance seemed like a boxers, although his fists were flat palmed. Pascal leaned against the warm wall of the hangar and watched the kunoichi.

"You can't run anywhere girl," he yelled. "If you try I'll shoot you in the legs. Let's have ourselves a little three on one tournament!"

Kasumi prepared herself for further combat and watched the largely built bodyguard close in on her. The man entered her personal circle and brought out his left leg. He attempted a straight buffalo kick directed towards Kasumi's waist. She sidestepped out of the way and then bent low to sweep the man from his feet as he stood with one leg in the air. Kasumi ducked down and kicked the back of the man's knee. This forced him to fall backwards and land into the dry soil, a puff of earth rose up into the air from the contact.

The man jumped to his feet and tried to grab Kasumi by her arms as she got back up into her stance. Kasumi wrestled with him but his strength was too great. He threw her arms to her sides and quickly wrapped his arms around her body in a bear hug. He then picked her up from off her feet and tightened his grasp around her waist. Kasumi gasped for breath frantically. She hadn't responded to the man's attack fast enough and had allowed him to grab hold of her. She was not suited for wrestling and this was one of her few weaknesses. She put her hands to his biceps as they wrapped around her underarms and pushed with all her might. The man seemed unconcerned with her resistance and laughed whilst pressing down tighter across her body.  
  
After only a few seconds more of this hold Kasumi could tell she was losing her strength and beginning to feel feint. In a wild last pitch effort she started to swing her legs and managed to strike the man directly into his groin. He instantly lost his grip on the girl and dropped her, clutching his groin his both hands and bending down in agony. Kasumi fell onto the ground and took a few long deep breaths before leaping back up and striking the man in the head with a fast roundhouse kick. The blow hit him in the side of the head as he bowed down recovering from the knee strike. He fell to his right and hit the deck with a menacing thud.  
  
The man now seemed angry and stormed back up. His face had gone red and his eyes revealed blistering aggression. He attacked and tried to kick her in the stomach again. Kasumi evaded this by clutching his leg as it raced towards her body. She then jumped up and drove a fly kick into his face as he hobbled on one leg. He fell down and Kasumi resumed her stance. The man got up but wearily. Her blow had broken his nose and he bled.

"That was sneaky," he yelled.

He charged at her and attacked like a thing possessed, launching punches and kicks in wild succession. Kasumi evaded, blocked, and dodged his attacks as they came one after the other. He tried to sweep her but she simply glided over his leg without any real effort. He couldn't touch her. It was obvious that the girl's skill was beyond the level of grading now and entering truly spiritual levels. She just glided as if it were a dance. She realised that she was not troubled or putting her full effort into this and it suddenly emerged on her quite how adept her very own skills had now become. Kasumi continued her ballet of Ninjutsu, and then she counter attacked.  
  
The man drove a kick at her which she ducked and then he swung a jab at her which she countered by clutching his arm as it raced towards her. She then leapt into the air and, using his own body as her support, managed to get so high that she proceeded to kick him repeatedly in the face with the soles of her boots until he crashed to the floor with her standing over him. He was in pain from this move and more blood started to ooze from the many bruises that had formed and callused around his face and body. He seemed driven by some wild energy and got back up. Kasumi wasn't going to let him attack her again.  
  
The kunoichi struck him in the stomach with her clenched fist, then launched a combo of punches, pummelling into his chest and head. She finished off with a jumping back kick which spun around from her left side in a full circle before coming around and smashing him across the head. He stumbled back and fell down onto his back. Kasumi could tell by the way he fell and landed that he was limp and lifeless, likely dead. She didn't want to think about it and just walked by him as he lay, focusing on her next opponent.  
  
The man with ponytail seemed cool and calm even though he'd just watched his friend take a beating. He got in a stance as he watched the girl walk towards him. Her brown hair swayed in the light summer wind. For a moment the man was mesmerised by her radiant sophistication and grace as she stirred towards him, but he soon snapped himself out of the spell.

"Welcome to stage two," he declared.

The man started to shuffle on the spot. His style seemed like a form of freestyle, possibly linked to the French kickboxing art, Savate. He raised his right knee and brought forth his arms.

"Let's see what you've got, ninja girl," he said.

Kasumi stood in her Ninjutsu stance and allowed him to come to her. She was a defensive fighter and always allowed the aggressor to come to her. The long haired man came at her without much hesitation and initiated a combination of knee strikes, followed by low kicks to her shins and knees. Kasumi dodged the blows by backing away step by step as he followed. He then tried to kick her in the side of her stomach. His kick was so fast Kasumi couldn't block it and it struck her firmly. She yelped in shock at the blow which partially winded her. The man then drove a front jab at her face. She grabbed his wrist and with her other hand struck him in the elbow joint. This caused him to close the arm up and as he done this Kasumi threw him over her shoulders. He was a skilled fighter and after he'd flipped over her body landed on both feet. Kasumi now found herself standing behind him. He had his back to her and bent low, raising his left leg back, striking her in the chest. She fell down to the ground.  
  
The man turned and jumped into the air. He glided forward until he was destined to land on top of the girl as she lay. Kasumi looked up at the image of his legs falling down towards her face. She quickly rolled to her side and avoided him with fractions of a second to spare. She then swept him from his feet and he fell down to Kasumi's side. He quickly scrambled towards Kasumi and jumped on top of her, trying to pin her down whilst sitting on her chest. He grabbed both her wrists but Kasumi only put a struggle up with one arm. The man put his strength down onto that arm and fell for the old Judo trick. Kasumi then put her strength onto her other arm and pushed him over her side. She then got to her feet and watched as her enemy stood back up. He once again came at her with a series of low kicks but this time Kasumi was geared up to attack as well as defend. He raced into her but she had already made her move.  
  
She pounced into the air and wrapped her legs around his neck before he even had time to react. Once she was in control of him she bent back and her weight caused him to flip forward. Kasumi's legs directed his head on its journey downwards to crash into the ground. The man landed firmly head first and Kasumi eased her grasp on his head and got up quickly. She looked down at him. He was lifeless.  
  
Kasumi knew what was next and looked towards the direction of Pascal. Her eyes focused on the hangar and the broken wooden doorway. She studied the view carefully, Pascal was gone. She turned around and looked to all sides in a hunt to find the cream suited figure. Her attention changed once she'd turned around. She realised that two of Chad's three men had got back up and were walking towards her with machete's clutched. Kasumi felt her tanto's handle from behind her back and swiftly brought it out and forward in one movement. The two men ran at her in a wild war cry. The first to reach her swung his blade at her from a high angle as he raised the machete above his head. The weapon came raging down towards Kasumi but she deflected it with her tanto and spun around on her toes. Once she had fully spun her tanto blade came racing around with her and drove itself into the mans torso. A few spurts of blood gushed from the entry wound as Kasumi pulled the sword back out. The man fell down dead.  
  
The other mercenary stood with his blade facing her. Kasumi noticed how the blade was wobbling up and down rapidly. He was shivering in nervousness. Kasumi resumed her stance and watched him carefully. He cautiously side-stepped around her but made sure he didn't get any closer. Kasumi then continued to watch his machete tremble like jelly as he faced her.

"Go home," Kasumi advised softly.

With that the man dropped his machete.

"This ain't worth it," he shivered. "To hell with this!"

He then turned and bolted off into the direction of the jeep the men had come in. Kasumi felt relief that she wasn't going to be forced to hurt yet another person. The kunoichi then turned to Chad who was still sitting down where she'd left him. He was smiling, his gun poised and aimed towards her.

"You know," he started to speak. "...I don't care what Pascal wants to do with you anymore, he seems to have bailed from the scene. I guess that leaves me in charge. Well guess what?"

Kasumi could tell he was about to fire his gun at her. She was fast to react and quickly managed to gain enough concentration and energy to pull off one of her more extraordinary skills. Her body turned to air and her essence glided with the breeze in perfect teleportation from where she stood to behind Chad's slouched position. All he saw was cherry blossoms blowing in the wind in this feat of skilful ability from the girl. This had been his last memory for once Kasumi had reappeared behind him she'd sliced her tanto across his neck and struck him to the head in a move that killed him painlessly.  
  
Kasumi rose up slowly. She stood still and in total silence before eying the area she was in with astute scrutiny. She was standing amongst a growingly large pool of hot blood as it gushed from Chad's neck in waves. Kasumi felt sick about the fact she'd just killed him but knew that she'd simply had no choice. Her eyes rolled from left to right and then she turned around. The bolting mercenary had reached the jeep by now and was inside. The engine suddenly sounded and he was away, the old rusty wreck coughing up across the dirt track and off into the woods. A cloud of dusty brown soil climbed into the air as the tires screeched into the distance. Kasumi then looked to the bodies of those she'd been forced to slay. She counted five, Chad and two of his men, and both of Pascal's bodyguards. This then reminded her of Pascal, where was he?


	7. A Brief Acquaintance Chapters 13 & 14

****

**Chapter Thirteen  
**

Kasumi looked around in all directions. She sensed that she was being watched. Her intuition was yet again giving her a feeling that her mind couldn't ignore. Kasumi felt like she could just run away into the woods now and likely get away but a part of her felt a need to confront the man who'd been behind this whole affair. She imagined that he'd likely try something like this again and decided she needed to deal with him now.  
  
The kunoichi crept away from her position and back towards the hangar. She felt attracted to the building, as if she sensed Pascal had slipped inside. There were a few other small buildings dotted around the area but none seemed like likely places to run to. Kasumi jogged to the broken entrance which led back into the structure and stopped just as she reached the doorway. She analysed the area and looked down the corridor inside the hangar. She decided to walk in and investigate. As she entered the corridor she heard the sound of footsteps bounding up the spiral staircase to the other end of the passage. She stared towards them and spotted Yoshida come running up into the corridor. He seemed enraged and was carrying one of his scalpels.

"You," he yelled. "You will pay for messing with me!"

He seemed irritated and stressed as if he'd had a real challenge breaking free from Kasumi's knots. He ran towards Kasumi with his scalpel raised up and aimed at her. Kasumi kicked his hand as it came into her range, knocking the scalpel out of his grasp. Yoshida tried to punch her with his other arm but Kasumi blocked the strike and pressed a palm strike into his chest. He wheezed from the blow but refused to back down, trying to manhandle Kasumi in a tussle.  
  
Kasumi refused to allow herself to be jostled and kicked her way out of his clutch. She then booted him in the stomach. He bent low and Kasumi followed her kick through with a lightning paced uppercut which launched him from his feet and sent him half way down the corridor. He struck the concrete floor with force and made no signs of getting back up as he lay twisted on the flooring. As Kasumi stared at him whilst panting in recovery she heard a yell spring out across the airstrip;

"Kasumi! Now its time for the main event!"

Kasumi turned around and raced back into the clearing outside. The voice had come from everywhere at once, like an echo, but she soon spotted the culprit. Pascal stood next to Chad's body, a gun in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

"Miss me?" He laughed. "I had some things I needed to pack; I guess my time at the airfield has come to an end."

Kasumi stood a few metres from him.

"I guess you won't be being sold after all," he said. "I can't contact your brother now can I?"

He looked to Chad's corpse as he spoke.

"But don't think your just going to mince off into the sunset you little bitch!" Pascal was livid.

"You should never have planned to try and bribe my brother Pascal," Kasumi said.

She didn't have many words to say to the character.  
  
Pascal laughed.

"Whatever, time to die little girl..."

He aimed his pistol at her and focused on her body. Kasumi ran towards him and just as he fired his shot she dived to the ground into a front roll which brought her directly in front of the man. She sprung up and slapped the gun from out of his hand. Pascal swung his black briefcase around at her head. She bent down to avoid it and drove a clothesline strike into his neck by extending her right arm. He fell to the floor fiercely. He reacted sharply to this and kicked Kasumi in the face as he lay on his back. The female ninja stumbled back. Pascal left his suitcase on the ground and climbed to his feet. He then got into a stance and removed his tinted glasses.

"Are you ready to get beaten now Kasumi?" He smiled.  
  
His stance was technical and seemed like a certain form of Kung-Fu. He bent his arms at the wrist like he was in an animal form and shuffled around Kasumi. The girl could tell he had skill and prepared for a showdown. Pascal jumped in with a combination of fast jabs. Kasumi deflected his punches and returned her own. Pascal managed to block each strike with his tiger style countering techniques and then bent low, trying to kick Kasumi in the shins. The kicks were fast but Kasumi jumped over them. She tried to then kick Pascal in the chest as she flew in the air. Her leg drove into the man's upper body but he grabbed it by the ankle and turned to put his body against it. He then kept hold of her leg and began to spin around on the spot, spinning the upside down Kasumi with him. He then let go of her leg and she flew a feet back but managed to elegantly land on her feet. This surprised Pascal who groaned at the sight.  
  
Kasumi allowed him to come towards her and back flipped as he came close. Both her legs struck him in the jaw as they flipped upwards. Pascal took the blow well and didn't fall down. He jumped up and extended his right leg. The limb glided towards Kasumi as she completed her flip. It struck her in the face and she fell down brutally. Pascal laughed as he stood over her.

"If you want a job doing," he paused. "...Do it yourself."

With that he knelt by her side and put his hands to her neck. Kasumi felt his hands tighten as he started to try and strangle her. His body sat on top of her chest. She looked up and watched Pascal's grinning face glaze down at her from above and then she struck both sides of his face with either of her hands with as much strength as she could muster. She followed this through with a second double strike, this time aiming for both temples on the sides of his forehead with her flat palms. Pascal let go of her and fell off from her body in a daze. Kasumi coughed in liberation and scaled back to her feet.  
  
Pascal wasn't far behind and got up slowly. He attacked again but this time Kasumi wasn't going to hold anything back. She was now fighting with her full force and might. The two fighters clashed into a parry of punch after punch, kick after kick. Kasumi blocked, dodged, and evaded Pascal's blows and Pascal managed to do the same against Kasumi's. This went on for a good few seconds until Kasumi got a blow in. Her fist snaked its way through Pascal's blocks and caught him in the ear. He yelled in pain and couldn't help but clutch the soreness. Kasumi used this moment of distraction to jump up and wrap her thighs around his neck. She bent back in a handstand with his head still in between her legs. The girl then flipped him over and tossed him to the ground head first. Pascal's face met the dry soil viciously. Kasumi swiftly released him and stood back up, hoping this would be enough to keep him down.  
  
Her wishes didn't come true and the cream suit, now dirty from mud stains and dust, got back up to face her. Pascal's face was covered in dry dirt. He spat some out. His lips opened, as if to speak, but he then paused and instead swung another jab at Kasumi. She blocked it and drove her elbow into his ribcage. He cowered down in agony, knowing instantly that she'd broken ribs. He fell to his knees in distress.

"Okay okay," he yelled. "You win Kasumi."

Kasumi eased her stance and looked down at him in judgement.

"Don't ever try to hunt me down again, or you won't live to tell the tale," Kasumi said in a firm tone.

Pascal remained on his knees, panting heavily.

"I've learnt my lesson Kasumi, really I have," he uttered frantically.

Kasumi knew that Pascal didn't deserve any mercy from her but she also knew that she couldn't bring herself to kill anyone who had already given themselves up. She stared down at Pascal as he glazed back up at her with a frightened, innocent expression. Kasumi nodded.

"Goodbye Pascal Durron," she concluded.  
  
Without a moments delay the girl then raced away towards the trees. Pascal watched as she bounded off into the direction of the woodland, leaving him sitting alone in the airstrip. He smiled to himself as she ran, clutching another pistol from under his jacket. In typical stupidity he yelled out at Kasumi before firing a shot. This gave the kunoichi all the warning she needed.

"Die Kasumi, die!" He screamed wildly.

He stood up with the revolver held in both hands. Kasumi rolled to the ground and upon completing the move turned to face Pascal. Just as he was about to pull the trigger she hurled a shuriken from out of her belt towards him. It shimmered in perfect aerodynamics as it glided through the air. Pascal only caught a glimmer of silver flicker in the daylight. As soon as this had registered in his head it was already too late. The metallic razor sharp star had sliced into his neck and cut deeply into the flesh. He collapsed onto the ground, clutching his neck with both hands. Blood poured out with such speed that he already lay in a pool of dark red. He coughed and writhed in desperation as the final few seconds of his life came to a grim end. His last view was that of Kasumi standing in the distance watching him, she seemed sorry to see him so distressed, a compassionate and warm smile formed on her face, directed towards him in respect. Then there was nothing.

**Chapter Fourteen**

Endal vaulted along the greenery as quickly as he could. He was under no illusions and expected Ayane to be right behind him, although he didn't take a second to look back. Ayane was closing in, flanking forward across his left side, hoping to overtake him and pounce as he ran into her. She glided along and started to use the branches of the trees to increase her pace, jumping onto the branches and swinging from tree to tree in a series of flips.  
  
Endal suddenly noticed a gap in the foliage ahead. He realised that beyond this gap lay the airport, he'd almost made it. Ayane had managed to overtake him now and ran along his side, closing in on him diagonally. Endal was not aware of this, his mind set on racing into the hangar and out of Ayane's way. As he ran on towards the airstrip he suddenly spotted a flash of blue dart across the bushes towards him. He didn't get much time to react to this for as soon as he'd spotted it Kasumi had reached him and tripped him up as he ran into her extended leg. He fell into the grass and partially slid forward until he was abruptly halted by a tree.  
  
In this instance Ayane popped from out of the undergrowth and to Endal's side. She'd been seconds away from tackling him herself. As soon as she appeared and glimpsed at Endal she turned around and spotted her half- sister staring at her with her wide brown eyes.

"Kasumi!" Ayane's heart raced.

"Ayane..." Came the kunoichi's stunned reply.

Both girls took a few seconds to glance at one another, mostly in surprise at the meeting. Endal just sat against the side of the tree. He'd had enough. The fact Kasumi was now standing alongside Ayane just topped it all of for the assassin, he couldn't help but laugh.

"You escaped?" Ayane asked.

Kasumi slowly walked closer to her younger relative.

"Yes I did Ayane," said Kasumi. "Why are you here?"

"I found out about this whole plan and discovered where you'd been taken to, I was heading here when I bumped into this," Ayane pointed to Endal.

Her tone was dry, like she felt repelled at speaking to Kasumi.

"Endal," Kasumi smiled. "I've already had a run in with him."

Ayane nodded.

"He'd been paid and was leaving the scene when I bumped into him, oh and he also was the very assassin who tried to kill me that time, remember?" Ayane seemed increasingly more irate.  
  
Kasumi then remembered the time when an assassin had tried and failed to kill Ayane in her sleep. It was a feint memory but one she recalled without much probing.

"That was Endal?" Kasumi was surprised.

"I remembered his face, and name, only too well," Ayane replied. "So it looks like my work is already done. You've managed to escape and, well, there's no more threat."

Endal couldn't help but ask;

"Where's Durron?"

Kasumi looked to him.

"I was forced to kill him Endal, and his men, I had no choice."

Endal didn't looked surprised or particularly bothered.

"There goes your plan, pal," he muttered to himself.

A part of Endal had always felt that Pascal had trodden into water too deep. He knew that Kasumi was well above any level of his control or ability and felt this an apt conclusion to this bloody episode. Endal then started to laugh. This caused both girls to turn and face him.

"What's so funny?" Ayane asked.

"Oh nothing," Endal chuckled. "Nothing at all."  
  
Kasumi then looked to Ayane. She seemed curious. She spoke;

"Why did you come to rescue me Ayane?"

Ayane looked down to the ground.

"It may come as a surprise to you Kasumi but I still have my honour. I wasn't going to let some criminal use our situation for their financial advantage. I wasn't going to stand by and see Hayate forced to pay for you, how dare they try and con us!" Ayane shrieked.

Kasumi understood her half-sisters logic.

"Thank you Ayane," she said softly.

Ayane seemed embarrassed by the praise.

"Don't think I done it for you Kasumi!" She yelled. "It was for Hayate, I didn't want to see him used like that."

Kasumi refused to change her tone and just kept herself calm.  
  
As the girls spoke Endal started to sneakily shuffle away from Ayane as she stood by his side. He was about to get up and run but just as his momentum had begun Ayane's cold spiky sword edge touched against his throat. He eased back down and sat obediently by her feet.  
  
"So now what Ayane?" Kasumi asked.

Ayane seemed unclear.

"I came here to deal with those that thought they could get away with using Hayate. Now that is already done and you are free..." She paused. "I..."

Kasumi could tell she was at odds with what to do. Ayane felt compelled to confront Kasumi but the more she focused and felt her emotions deep down the more she realised that she actually didn't want to.

"There are swarms of shinobi's scattered around here Kasumi, all after you. They're closing in. I'll pretend I never saw you; you'd gone before I arrived here. Now, go!" Ayane yelled.

She seemed to be toiling with herself as the words came out, but Kasumi still felt touched and proud of her younger half-sister.

"Thank you Ayane, I will never forget this," she whispered subtly.

Both girls blushed in a mixture of emotion and nerves.

"Sayonara, Kasumi," Ayane slowly spoke.

Kasumi bowed gracefully;

"Sayonara... Ayane."  
  
Kasumi then looked to Endal.

"Oh don't worry," Ayane smiled. "I'll deal with him."

Kasumi looked into Endal's eyes with an expression that suggested a mutual farewell. The brown haired kunoichi then took one final glance at Ayane and then raced off into the trees. Her blue toned clothing flicked in and out of view as she disappeared into foliage and then she was gone.  
  
Ayane watched her vanish into the natural habitat with a sense of closure in her mind. She doubted she'd likely see Kasumi again. Her glaze then turned to Endal. He looked up at her.

"Families huh... who'd have em?" He commented aridly.

Endal was now well aware that he was completely at the mercy of the purple haired ninja.

"So what to do with the assassin that tried to kill me and kidnapped Kasumi..." Ayane pondered.

She continued to stroke her sword against his neck.

"I guess it's time to kill you," she stated.

Endal sprang up in sudden alarm. His heart throbbed in his chest. He couldn't tell if she was really serious;

"What? No, wait..." He stammered.

Ayane smiled as he started to tremble. She kept her serious expression. Endal lost his cool in an instant.

"Please don't Ayane, I'm sorry..." He'd resorted to begging.

"You don't deserve mercy Endal," Ayane replied.

"I know I don't but please Ayane, don't do it..." Endal was terrified at the prospect that loomed.  
  
The calm and collected assassin had been dragged down into a pleading mess. His image was all but shattered. Living life on the edge only becomes a stark realisation when the edge draws that little bit too near. His pleading continued in a desperate tone until Ayane interrupted;

"Okay okay stop Endal. It's alright, I won't kill you," she reassured him.

Ayane hadn't actually planned to kill him; she'd just wanted to frighten the guy. The truth was, even she had no desire to kill someone in this execution type fashion. As much as the anger burned away inside her over the character and all that he had done she still knew that even she wasn't capable of killing in such a cold, merciless way. She knew she'd defeated Endal mentally, listening contently to his pleading. She didn't need to kill him.

"But Endal you have to know that this will be the last time I ever let you go," Ayane spoke with total conviction.

Endal felt relief but at the same time utter defeat.

"I don't want to ever see you again or even as much as hear about you. Is that clear?" Ayane asked.

"Yes Ayane, it's clear. I'll never come back to Japan, I swear it," Endal panted.

Ayane nodded and recoiled her sword from his neck line.

"I think we have an understanding then, Endal," she concluded.

Without any wait the girl then turned and shot off into the woodland from where they'd come from. Endal remained seated against the tree and watched the black figure fade into diminished features. Eventually he'd lost her from his gaze, she was a memory.  
  
Endal slowly got to his feet. He felt surreal. He looked around in all directions and realised that he was alone. He had no urge to check the bodies that likely lay across the airfield and didn't care about Pascal's demise enough to find his corpse. He just wanted to get out of here and get himself home. This had been a severe warning to the assassin and his closest dance with death yet. He didn't feel relief, he felt completely defeated. He'd been forced to beg for his life, he knew his days of killing were truly over with.  
  
He stood up and listened as a lone bird begun to sing in distilled notes. He then looked to the ground and spotted a single $50 bill lying in the grass, flapping in the warm calming wind that rolled along the forest floor. Ayane had taken the money with her; this had simply fallen out of the holdall. He picked it up and smiled; at least he hadn't finished this thing cheap.

**_(The End) May, 2004._**

(_I hope you enjoyed the story. Phonesis, over and out.)_  
  
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